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Crises Waiting, Government Is Sworn in by Thai King

BANGKOK — King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s single unifying figure, swore in the country’s new government on Monday and called on lawmakers to “ensure happiness and public order” at a time of political and social turmoil.

Many Thais had reacted with consternation when the highly revered king did not make his annual birthday address on Dec. 5, an absence the crown princess said was due to an inflamed throat.

Speaking in a faint, hoarse voice in brief televised remarks, the king, who is 81, said: “If you work well, the country will be in good order and it will be a blessing to the country. The country needs good care.

“Without it, public service will not be good enough,” he said, according to a translation on the Web site of The Nation, a daily newspaper. “If you can ensure happiness and public order, the country will go ahead well, just like what all Thais want.”

The new government, headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party, who was elected prime minister in a special session of Parliament last week, is a tenuous coalition that includes parties and politicians who have been vigorous opponents.

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It takes office after a court dissolved the previous governing party, the People Power Party, for electoral fraud, leading to a shift in power from allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the longtime opposition Democrat Party.